Can a lawyer be listed and have his "qualifications" included in a local law
directory or law list which will list only those lawyers paying to advertise in the
directory and which will be promoted as a method consumers may use to select an attorney?

Discussion

Canon 2 of the Texas Code of Professional Responsibility, as amended by order of the
Supreme Court of Texas on Sept. 1, 1982, would allow advertising in a local law directory
under certain circumstances. According to Ethical Consideration (EC) 2-10 under Canon 2,
a lawyer may publish or broadcast certain information in any printed media, including
legal directories and law lists. The information allowed to be advertised is then listed
in 17 enumerations under EC 2-10. So long as the information communicated in a legal
directory or law list comports with EC 2-10 and so long as the information is not false,
deceptive, or misleading as prohibited under Disciplinary Rule (DR) 2-101, then a lawyer can advertise in a legal
directory or law list. See alsoBates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350
(1977).

Law lists have been the subject of several previous opinions by the Professional Ethics
Committee of the State Bar of Texas. Ethics Opinion 321
(1966) stated that an attorney may not ethically permit his name to be listed as an
attorney in a statewide classified directory which is not an approved list. Ethics Opinion
370 (1974) stated that a lawyer could participate in a "reputable" law list
under certain circumstances and that a law list would be presumed reputable if it were
certified by the American Bar Association. In light of the teachings of Bates v. State
Bar of Arizona, and In re R.M.J., 455 U.S. 191 (1982), although lawyer
advertising can be regulated, it is commercial speech and the First and Fourteenth
Amendments require that states regulate such speech with care and in a manner no more
extensive than reasonably necessary to further substantial state interests. 455 U.S. at
207. Under the circumstances, Texas attorneys may advertise in law lists and those lists
do not have to be approved by any bar organization.

DR 2-103(C) also is applicable to this issue. It
states that a lawyer may not pay an organization to recommend his employment by a client, except
"that a lawyer may advertise in the public media within the limits of DR 2-101 .
. ." The exception would clearly allow a lawyer to advertise in law lists, which are
permitted under DR 2-101 and its counterpart under Canon 2, EC 2-10.

Any lawyer who advertises in a legal directory or law list should insure that the legal
directory or law list does not provide for recommendation of professional employment as
prohibited under DR 2-103. A lawyer should also be
careful to follow the dictates of DR 2-101(C) in regard to any representation regarding
specialization.

Conclusion

A lawyer may be listed and have his "qualifications" included in a law
directory or list which will be promoted as a method consumers may use to select an
attorney, provided the information included comports with EC 2-10 and DR 2-101.
This opinion is not to be interpreted as approving any particular law list service. It is
the responsibility of a participating lawyer to insure that the information in the
directory pertaining to the attorney fully complies with all pertinent disciplinary rules.
(6-0)